Hanging By a Moment
by SpeedingCars237
Summary: Sequel to Sirius Black Does Not Cry. I dont think it's necessary to read that story first, but it wouldn't hurt. Marauders 7th year. How James gets Lily, AND more SiriusOC RemusOC Previously titled let love in. Mild Lang. R
1. Chapter 1

James was already sitting in the Heads' Compartment when Lily boarded the train on the 1st of September of their 7th year. Lily looked in the window, checking to see who was her co-head. Upon seeing James, Lily swiftly marched down the corridor, checking compartments for her friends; finally she spotted them and entered.

"Remus," Lily started, "what is James doing in the heads' compartment wearing _your _badge?"

Remus chuckled. "It's not my badge Lils. James is Head Boy." A look of shock crossed Lily's faced, quickly replaced by one of complete horror.

"No," she whispered, then louder. "No! He can't be! He'll ruin everything!"

"Shut up Lily," Anna snapped, her blood boiling. "He's head boy and there is nothing you can do about it. Get over it." Lily looked at Anna, wide-eyed and speechless; sure, Anna had always made it quite obvious she didn't like the way Lily treated Sirius and James, but Lily had never seen Anna get quite so angry about it.

"Just go talk to him," Taylor said to Lily. "Maybe he'll surprise you." Lily nodded, and with one more shocked glance at Anna, made her way back to the heads' compartment.

"So, James is really head boy?" Alice asked. Remus, Sirius, Anna, and Taylor all nodded.

"Wow. Congrats to James," Frank said. "Although I got agree with Lily… it is a little surprising." Peter and Alice nodded there agreement.

"I agree as well, but I can't believe Lily was so rude!" Taylor said.

"Why not?" Anna asked. "She's never been very nice to James before; why would anything have changed?"

"Well they got a long alright towards the end of last year, and they didn't fight at all at your birthday dinner," said Taylor. "You oughtn't have gotten so angry with her, Anna. I know she wasn't being particularly nice about James, but she's still one of your best friends." Anna shrugged.

"I hope she's not biting James' head off right now," Frank said. "You think he can handle head boy and quidditch captain?"

"Well James has changed a lot this summer," Remus stated, "and he's always been a good captain. I'm sure he'll be able to manage it all."

"Changed a little too much if you ask me," Sirius grumbled. Anna squeezed his hand gently.

"What happened to make him change?" Alice wondered aloud. Everyone shrugged, but said nothing, except Frank.

"Knowing James, we'll probably never know," he said.

"Oh, Anna! I forgot to ask when I saw you in Diagon Alley, did you make prefect?" asked Alice.

Anna nodded, "Yeah. Sorry you didn't… you probably would've been better."

"Nonsense," Alice smiled, "I expected you to get it over me, and I'm happy for you!"

Anna turned to Frank. "Are you prefect too?" He grinned and nodded.

"With Remus, Frank, and Anna all as Gryffindor prefects, and James and Lily as Heads, we can get away with anything!" Alice said, sticking out her hand to high-five Sirius and Peter. Everyone laughed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lily had gone back to the heads compartment. James looked up when she entered, but didn't say anything. 

"James, if we're going to work well together, we need to set out a few rules," Lily began. "First, NO asking me out. Second, you'll do what I tell you to do; I can't handle all the work myself, but I won't put the responsibility of making decisions and plans on you. You'll just help me carry things out. Third—what are you doing anyway?!"

James had looked back down at the sheet of paper before him as soon as Lily had begun talking and hadn't looked up since. "I'm planning what we need to talk about in the prefect's meeting," James answered. He held the list up for her to see.

_Patrol Schedules  
__Common Room Passwords  
__Castle Safety (Death Eaters)  
__Responsibilities and Privileges of Being a Prefect  
__Hogsmeade Weekends  
__Not Abusing Power as Prefects  
__Calendar-Plan Dates for Future Meetings _

Lily stared at the list before her. "This actually isn't bad, Potter. If I could read your handwriting that is," she joked.

"Ha Ha," James said sarcastically, but smiled slightly. "Thanks, Remus helped a bit."

"We don't have dates for Hogsmeade weekends yet though," Lily reminded him.

"Well I was thinking we could figure them out before the meeting. We don't have patrol schedules either of course, but I think we should talk to the prefects about when a good time for them would be…so we can work around their schedules."

"That's a good idea," Lily agreed. "We have more prefects than ever before who play quidditch, so we'll have to work around that." _Maybe this wont be so bad after all._

* * *

James and Lily were just finishing up picking weekends for Hogsmeade when the prefects began filling into the compartment. Lily smiled hesitantly when Anna walked in. Anna huffed, raised her eyebrows as if to say 'you better have been nice', and finally smiled back. 

"So," Lily started the meeting, "I'm Lily Evans for those of you who don't know. I'm a Gryffindor and Head Girl this year."

"James Potter. Gryffindor. Head Boy." James' introduction was greeted by several surprised faces. Besides the shock of James being head boy, the prefect meeting went smoothly, and soon James and Lily were alone again. James sighed as the last prefect left the compartment and sat down, staring out the window.

Lily was shocked; James wasn't going to ask her out? Or bother her? Or even talk to her? An awkward silence filled the compartment. Or maybe it was just awkward to Lily; James didn't seem uncomfortable. Lily couldn't take it.

"Are you ok James?"

He turned from the window, frowning slightly. "Fine, why?"

"You're just quiet is all."

"I wouldn't have ever expected you to be one to mind my silence."

A small smile tugged at Lily's face. "Oh, I'm not complaining," she joked. "I'm just not used to your mouth being shut for so long at a time." James forced himself to give her a fake half smile, then turned back to the window as the silence set in once more.

"How was your summer?" Lily asked.

"Fine. Yours?"

"It was pretty good." More silence. "It's weird to think this is our last year at Hogwarts, huh?" James nodded, but didn't speak. Lily sighed and gave up. She pulled out a book to occupy her for the rest of the journey, while James just continued staring out the window at the landscape flying past.

* * *

Lily and James joined the rest of their friends, except Taylor who was a Ravenclaw, at the Welcoming Feast in the Great Hall. Just before dinner started, an owl flew in and dropped a letter on James' plate, and one on Lily's. 

"What's it say, mate?" Sirius asked.

"Gotta go talk to Dumbledore after the feast," James muttered, shoving the letter in his pocket. When the feast had ended, Lily and James parted from their friends once more, and headed towards the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office.

"Chocolate Frogs," James stated, and the gargoyle began to turn, revealing a set of spiral stairs.

"How'd you know?" Lily asked, impressed.

"The letter said he's fond of chocolate frogs…"

"Oh," Lily said, "I though that was a bit strange."

"Welcome heads!" Dumbledore said as the two entered his office. "Now, I don't have much to talk to you about yet, except that I'd like you to begin planning a winter dance, and also the password to your heads' dormitory is 'gillyweed'. You may change it if you chose. We also need to set up a meeting to discuss your responsibilities and go over any thing you've already decided. How's a week from tomorrow? Here at 7 pm?" James and Lily nodded. "Good," the old man smiled. "Well I won't keep you any longer then. Your new dormitory is on the 8th floor of the South tower (AN: this isn't where Ravenclaw is, is it?), behind the portrait of the lovely witches having tea. Good night."

"Good night Professor," Lily and James said together.

"Did you know we get our own dormitory?" James asked as they left the Headmaster's office, excited about something for the first time since his parents' death in July. Lily laughed.

"Why do you think I wanted to be Head Girl?" she joked.

* * *

Several days had passes since September 1st, and Anna had become rather distant from James, Sirius, Remus, and Taylor. She was putting on quite an act; always laughing and smiling. One would never guess at the tragedy she had gone through over the summer. James on the other hand, was much more serious, and everyone noticed. The student body even began to notice the subtle changes in Sirius, who was quieter and whose eyes no longer held a mischievous glint, but now rather looked like a storm was raging inside them. 

Several students noticed the same glint was also missing from James' eyes, which now simply looked empty. Because Anna seemed unchanged, no one guessed what their three classmates had recently gone through. Instead the just assumed that the two pranksters were finally growing up.

Anna was sitting on a couch in the Gryffindor common room staring at the fire with tears streaming from her eyes late one night after everyone else had gone to bed. Hearing the steps creak, she quickly wiped her face with her sleeve, and turned to see the intruder.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here," Sirius whispered, sitting down beside Anna, and wrapping his arms around her. They sat quietly for a bit; the only sound being Anna's sniffles and the crackling of the fire. "You should get to bed. You need sleep." Sirius said, standing up and reaching down to lift Anna.

"No!" she said.

"Anna! You're going to get sick! You haven't been eating and now you're not sleeping!" Sirius tried to sound both gentle and insistent.

Anna bit her lip. "Do you think I could… sleep with you tonight?" she mumbled. Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Just sleep."

"Of course," he answered, picking her up. _She's lost a lot of weight._ Sirius thought, vowing to himself to make sure she'd start eating more at meals. He set her in his bed, and crawled in, snuggling close to her. Anna turned to bury her face in his chest, and he put his arms around her, holding her close. Only when Sirius felt Anna's tears stop and her breathing slow, did he allow himself to close his eyes and go to sleep.

* * *

That night was a late one for Lily and James as well. They were sitting in their common room, both doing there homework, when Lily suddenly stopped and went over to interrupt James. 

"If were going to get to know each other, we ought to get to know each other better, don't you think?" James looked up from his potions essay, surprised.

"Sure," he answered. Though he already knew a lot about Lily, he wanted to know everything, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited she finally wanted to get to know him. "What do you want to know?"

"Um… What's your favorite color?"

"Red," James answered, "and your's is green." Lily nodded, smiling in suspicion.

"Favorite band or singer?"

"Something Corporate. Your's is Johnny Lang."

"A muggle band?" James nodded. "Aren't you pureblood?" He nodded again.

"We live in a muggle town though; near London. The town where the restaurant we went to for Anna's birthday is in."

"Ohhh. Um... favorite animal?"

"Deer, and your's is a horse." Lily was starting to get frustrated.

"How do you know all this?"

"I dunno… I just listen when you talk I guess." James shrugged. "Next question?"

"Favorite class?"

"Transfiguration," James sighed. "Charms." He pointed at Lily.

"All right Mr. Know-it-all. What do you want to know then?"

"I don't know," James said slowly. "Tell me about… your family… your hometown… just… everything. Tell me something no one else knows. Not even your friends."

"Well," Lily began, hesitating slightly, she decided to trust James. "I live with my mom, dad, and my sister, Petunia. Me and Petunia used to get along really well, until I found out I was a witch. She kind of hates me for it… my parents are pleased about it, but they don't really understand our world. They want me to go to a muggle university. I love them, but I wish they'd understand. As for my hometown… it's a small muggle town, near London. It's kinda one of those towns where everyone knows everything about everybody, ya know? Typical small town type of thing. They all think I'm at a muggle boarding school of course though. Some thing no one else knows is that I would love to play quidditch, but I'm terrified of heights."

James was shocked and incredibly pleased at how much Lily had just told him. _This could be the year. This __has__ to be the year._

"I'm sure your sister doesn't really hate you," James said, "and I could teach you to fly if you wanted." Lily smiled and nodded.

"Maybe… alright now you go." James sighed he hadn't expected this.

"Well I already told you I'm from a muggle town near London. It's not as small as your town sounds, but not huge either. You've been there. I guess you've got a pretty good idea of what it's like. Something no one else knows… is that you're the most beautiful, amazing girl to every live. At least I hope no one knows… or I'm in trouble."

Lily laughed, blushing slightly. "You forgot about your family."

"Oh…" James hadn't really forgotten. "Well you know my family. Anna's my sister and the Marauders are basically my brothers. Especially Sirius; he even lives with us."

"What about your parents?"

James shrugged. "Nothing really to say."

"What? There's gotta be something! I told you all about my family—things only my closest friends know, and I'll you'll tell me is things everyone knows?!"

"Not everyone knows Sirius lives with me…"

"James!"

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, OK?" James yelled, glowering at Lily.

"Yeah, okay," she said quietly, looking close to tears.

"Sorry," James said, calming back down. "I'm going to bed… good night… sorry again…"

"Yeah," Lily whispered. "Good night." _What the hell was that about?_

* * *

AN: Hope you enjoyed! Please review! I'll update again when I have 10 reviews! I hate to do it, but if I don't say that, lots of people read and no one reviews. I need feedback. Thanks. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Morning James," Lily said cautiously as she descended the stairs to the head's common room the next morning.

"Morning Lily," James replied. "Listen, I'm really sorry again for yelling at you last night. I was out of line."

"No James," Lily said. "I think this time I was out of line. You obviously didn't want to talk about it, and I pushed you to. I'm sorry." James shrugged, but gave her a small smile.

"Walk with me to breakfast?" Lily nodded, and led the way through the portrait hole.

"So…" Lily began, "how was your summer?"

"Parts of it were better than others. What about yours?"

"It was pretty good. My family took a trip to France from mid-July to just before the time school started. It was pretty fun, but would've been a lot more fun if Petunia and I hadn't fought the entire time." Lily sighed. "So what parts of your summer were good?"

"Well…" James started, "I played quidditch a few times with Anna and Sirius… Remus came over a few times… Anna's birthday dinner was fun…" James trailed off. They were nearly to the Great Hall and neither said a thing the rest of the way. Lily was thinking about what James had said about his summer. It seemed to her that his summer had really been quite terrible, but he didn't want to say it. _But why would James Potter have a bad summer? His life was never bad; was it?_

* * *

Anna woke up the next morning in Sirius' arms. She was so comfortable, and felt so safe for the first time since her parents had died; she hoped Sirius would sleep forever so she would never have to move. Unfortunately he began to stir soon after she woke.

Slowly Sirius opened his eyes. "Morning," he whispered.

"Morning," Anna whispered back. They laid together for a few more minutes, till finally Sirius sighed, removed his arms from around Anna and sat up.

"We should probably get ready. Classes start in half an hour," he said.

Anna groaned. "Can't we just lay here forever? Skip class?"

"You know, not even a year ago it would've been me asking that question, but no, we have to go to class," said Sirius, slightly worried by Anna's change in attitude towards school. The two got ready quickly, met up in the common room, and then split up to go their separate ways to class.

* * *

A few weeks passed by, and Sirius had grown increasingly angry with the way his best friend and girl friend were acting. Sirius was of course very sad about the Potters' deaths. They had been like parents to him, but he had allowed himself to grieve over the summer, even cry. James and Anna on the other hand had tried to cover up their sadness with other things. James had thrown himself into figuring out all the legal things behind his parents' death; their will, and trying to figure out how Anna could remain living with him. Anna on the other hand had almost instantly thrown on a happy face and focused all her energy on keeping up her happy image, rather than trying to grieve, move on, and truly be happy again.

Sirius hadn't seen Anna cry since the night of the murders, and he hadn't seen James cry at all. Not even at the funeral, where Sirius himself sobbed like a baby, but he was ok now. And Anna and James were clearly not. They had changed, and it was driving Sirius mad.

Sirius burst into the heads common room one night, with a plan. "Hi Lily," he said sweetly, then he turned to James and Anna who were going over quidditch plays together. "You two, upstairs, James' room. Now." With many suspicious and confused looks, the Potter siblings got up and followed Sirius up the staircase.

Once the door to the room was tightly, closed, Sirius rounded on his friends and started in on his rant; "What is up with you two lately?!" James and Anna stared at him blankly.

Finally, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, James, what's up with you not being into Lily at all, and being so serious all the time? And Anna, what's with you being all… all… fake? Not to mention not eating. You know Alice asked me today if I thought you had an eating disorder. What am I supposed to say to that? Obviously I'm not the only one noticing something's is up."

"Padfoot, you know what happened this summer. I would expect you of all people to understand," James said quietly. "As for me being serious, well, I kind of had to grow up a little bit, didn't I?"

"Your parents died. So what?!" Sirius yelled. "You're just going to stop living too then?"

"What do you mean so what?" James yelled back. "It's a fucking big deal! They're DEAD, as in not coming back!" Sirius rubbed his hands over his face, realizing how bad what he'd said sounded.

"I'm sorry. You're right. It is a big deal," Sirius said, more calmly now. "I just mean that I'm worried about you two. I just want you to realize that it's ok to cry and it's also ok to move on and be happy again."

"I am happy again," Anna said, finally speaking for the first time since the three entered the room.

"No you're not," replied Sirius quietly. "That's what I mean by fake. You put on this happy face, but I know you never gave yourself a chance to really become happy again."

No one spoke for several moments, until finally, James said, "Look Sirius, it's been a tough past couple months, and I can't promise that the next couple will be any better, but I can promise to try to let myself try to cry and move on as you say, and I'm sure Anna will try too." Anna nodded, confirming what James had just stated. "We don't like how we've changed any more than you do."

Sirius nodded. "All I ask is that you try." He looked down at his watch. "It's getting late. Walk back to Gryffindor with me Anna? Or do you have rounds?"

Anna shook her head. "I'm off tonight. I'll walk with you." The two left the room, followed a few minutes later by James.

"Ready for rounds?" James asked as he entered the common room. Lily stood up from her seat on the coach and nodded, but not before hurriedly wiping her eyes. "You alright?" Lily nodded again, and motioned for James to lead the way through the portrait hole.

The two walked silently for a few minutes, until finally Lily spoke. "I'm so sorry James." He looked at her questioningly. "I overheard your conversation with Sirius," she elaborated.

"Ah," James said, "well don't be sorry. It's not your fault."

"I know, but I'm still sorry you had to go through that. And I shouldn't have pressured you to talk about your family that night a few weeks ago."

James shrugged. "You didn't know." They were silent again for several minutes, each lost in his or her own thoughts, until; "Bet you're not sorry I've grown up though, are you?" James joked.

Lily laughed. "So you've gone from what? Eight to twelve years old? Very impressive Potter."

"Thirteen!" James said indignantly, before cracking a smile. Lily laughed again, harder. "I like your laugh," James said offhandishly. "You should laugh more often."

"What? I laugh all the time!" Exclaimed Lily.

"No, I mean really laughing. Like you just did," James explained. "I like making you laugh like you really mean it." Lily gave James a funny look, but smiled. They reached the entrance to the head's common room moments later. "After you," James said, gesturing for Lily to go through the portrait. When they entered, it was to discover a letter sitting on the table.

_Mr. Potter and Mrs. Evans, _

_Please join me for a quick discussion after your rounds tonight. Thank you._

_Professor Dumbledore_

_P.S. I'm still partial to chocolate frogs._

"What is it Professor?" Lily asked as she and James entered the headmaster's office.

"Well," said Dumbledore, "As I'm sure you realize the dark wizard Lord Voldemort seems to be gaining a great deal of power. I first would like to be sure of your awareness that as Head boy and girl you share with the teachers, and prefects to an extent, the responsibility of being sure the students are kept safe." James and Lily nodded. "Good. Second, it has come to my attention that because of the safety this castle provides to our students, many parents are having their children stay here over the Christmas break. I was hoping that the two of you could plan some sort of Christmas dance to entertain the many students who will remain here." James and Lily nodded again. "Good. Well, off to bed then. Good night."

* * *

A/N so I didn't manage to get 10 reviews, which is quite pathetic I must say. However, I really am excited about some things I have planned for later in this story, so I decided to go ahead and update anyway. I would still really appreciate reviews though!

If you have nothing to say, here's something to review on:

Which couple is your favorite?

Sirius/Anna

James/Lily

Remus/Taylor (more for people who read Sirius Black Does Not Cry. I really haven't written any of them in this fic. Don't worry though; there will be LOTS in the next two or three chapters I'd say.)

I have a busy week lying ahead, and reviews encourage me to update even if I'm busy, so please review, review review! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

James was making his best efforts to grieve and move on from his parents' death. It helped having Lily know about what had happened. She was really great to talk to, and the pair were getting along perfectly. Anna on the other hand, seemed to be making no effort at all and kept on her fake happy act. It was driving Sirius up the wall. Not to mention Alice and Frank, who couldn't figure out why Anna, who normally had quite the appetite, no claimed to be 'not hungry' at nearly every meal, and still didn't know a thing about the Potters' death.

* * *

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Frank asked Anna, as he, Anna, and Alice sat together eating breakfast one morning.

"Not hungry," Anna sighed, preparing herself for the conversation she knew was coming.

"Really?" Alice asked sarcastically. "I can't figure out how that could be. How do you become full one morning when you didn't eat a thing the day before? Any ideas Frank?"

"Hmmm…" Frank pretended to ponder, "Did James and Sirius teach you how to get to the Hogwarts kitchen? And you've been secretly eating brunch, an afternoon snack, and a midnight snack there everyday since the start of term?"

"I've always known where the kitchens are," Anna retorted, "and I had lunch today."

"Three carrots doesn't count as lunch Anna," said Alice. "Seriously, Anna, what's going on? We're worried about you."

"Well don't be. I'm fine."

"Hey guys," Taylor said happily, as she and Remus sat down. "How's it going?"

"Well it'd be better if Anna would eat something."

"Thank you Alice," Anna said, standing up. "Really, I appreciate you just dragging everyone into my business." She grabbed a muffin. "I actually have some studying to do, so I'm going to class now, and eat this while I study, which I was planning to do the whole time." She turned and left the Great Hall.

"You believe that?" Frank asked.

"Not at all," groaned Alice. "What is up with her lately? I'm really getting worried! Taylor, she spent part of the summer at your house, right? Was she like this then?"

"Yes," admitted Taylor quietly, "and I'm worried about her too, but I think the problem is bigger than you think Alice. There are other things she needs to work out before she can deal with this."

"Do you know something I don't?" Alice questioned. "Why wouldn't she tell me what's going on? We're supposed to be best friends!"

"You are. If it helps, I'm the only one she told, and it was only because she had to come stay with me."

"Doesn't help," Alice muttered. Sirius, James and Lily walked over to the table laughing and sat down with their friends.

"Why the long face?" Sirius asked Alice. He looked around the table. "Where's Anna?"

"She left to go study for a test she has first period."

"But its Monday," Sirius said.

"Uh-huh…"

"Anna has a free first period Monday."

Alice groaned. "What is WRONG with her?" James and Lily had stopped laughing by now.

"With who?" James asked.

"Your sister." The group fell silent. Alice and Frank were the only two who didn't know the truth by now. Finally Alice spoke again, "James, what happened the summer?"

James sighed and ran his hands over his face and up to his hair, messing it up. Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes. No one spoke; it was James choice if he wanted to tell people or not. He cleared his throat. "Voldemort dropped by for a visit at our house the night we were out celebrating Anna's birthday." He tried to say it casually, but couldn't keep his voice from shaking. Alice and Frank both gasped.

* * *

_Let's stop at the kitchens after class. It's basically on our way to potions. I'll bet the house elves have left over apple pie from last night!_

Anna read the note through a couple of times before looking over her shoulder at Alice.

_I'm not hungry. I already had that muffin. _Ok, so it wasn't completely true; Anna hadn't eaten the muffin, but she really wasn't hungry. She hadn't felt like eating since July. Of course, she knew to eat enough to keep herself at least somewhat healthy, but if she ate any more than that, she felt sick.

_Well I really want some apple pie. Will you at least come with me? _Anna sighed. Se turned to Alice and gave a slight nod, making sure it was clear she really didn't want to come.

* * *

"Mmm, this apple pie is delicious," Alice said, sitting on the kitchen counter. "Sure you don't want some?" Anna nodded. Alice sighed and set down her plate. "James told me what happened." Anna didn't say anything, but gave a slight nod to show she knew what Alice was talking about. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't tell anyone. I don't want anyone to know. I hate sympathy and I hate people worrying about me."

"Can you blame me Anna? You're my best friend. I don't want anything to happen to you. You can't punish yourself for being alive when they're dead. I knew your parents. They'd want you to just be happy—and not this fake-y happy you've been all year."

Anna snorted, "Sirius tell you to say that?" Alice frowned and shook her head. Anna sighed. "I'm not punishing myself," she said slowly, "I know they'd want me to be happy, which is why I'm trying to be. It's not like I don't want to eat. It just… makes me feel sick." Alice frowned but nodded. "Will it make you happy if I say I'll try?"

"Will you really try?" Anna nodded. "Then yes. It will make me happy."

"Then I'll try." Alice smiled.

"Will you promise to talk to Sirius after potions? He seemed pretty upset at breakfast."

"So demanding!" Anna huffed and the two girls laughed.

"Come on, we don't want to be late," said Alice.

"So… what exactly did James say?" Anna asked as the two girls made their way through the corridor.

"Nothing much," Alice said. "Why do you ask?"

"We haven't spoken much lately…" Anna muttered. "Just a little bit about quidditch." Alice was shocked; she had always admired how close James and Anna were. She hoped they wouldn't let their parents' deaths tear them apart.

* * *

Anna nibbled at her sandwich that day at lunch, but it made her feel sick. "I can't do it Alice."

"Do what?" Sirius asked, sitting down beside her.

"Eat," Anna said. "I think I'm sick."

"Hmm, been sick for a long time, eh?" He said. Anna glared at him. "I'm just joking. I'm glad to see you're at least trying to eat." He kissed her forehead. "Come on, try some pudding," he suggested grinning. He knew she loved pudding. Anna smiled and nodded. He scooped a huge mound of pudding onto her plate, of which, she managed to only eat a few bites, and Sirius finished the rest. Anna appreciated the lighter approach to making sure she ate.

* * *

Later that night, Taylor and Remus went out for a walk around the lake.

"So I saw Anna eating at lunch and dinner today," Remus announced to Taylor. "Thank God. She was starting to scare me."

Taylor sighed, "You think we'll ever get the old James, Sirius and Anna back?"

Remus shook his head sadly. "I don't think they can ever go back to who they were, but I think it'll get better. This kind of stuff always does."

Taylor nodded. "I feel so guilty that I'm grateful that it's not me in their position," she admitted. "Does that make me a bad friend?"

"Of course not," Remus said, wrapping his arm around Taylor and kissing her cheek. "Of course you'd be glad your parents aren't dead. It's not like you're glad theirs are, are you?" He joked.

Taylor gave a tiny giggle. "Of course not."

"It makes me feel lucky," Remus admitted. "Even if I have my fury little problem, at least I'm alive, and my family is all alive."

"Ah Remus, don't act like it's so bad. You know I think your fury little problem is sexy." Remus laughed. Stopping, he cupped Taylor's face in his hand and kissed her passionately. She returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and running her hands through his hair. He slid his hands along her sides, up her shirt. "I love you Remus," Taylor whispered, pulling away briefly.

"I love you too," Remus said before leaning back in.

* * *

A week went by, and though Anna really did try to eat, she still could only handle about half a small sandwich tops at each meal. She kept her fake happiness up for those she didn't know as well, but had let her mask slip several times throughout the week in front of her friends. It really was starting to help to be able to talk about it with them, and even cry a bit. She and James still hardly spoke though, and it was killing them both.

"James, why won't you talk to her?" Lily asked one night, sitting down beside him on the couch in their common room.

"To who?"

"Anna!"

"Oh… well its not like I don't want to talk to her," James sighed. "She just… she doesn't want to talk to me. I know she doesn't. She's mad I made her go stay with Taylor for the rest of the summer. Not mad she had to stay with Taylor… but mad she couldn't stay with me and Sirius."

"She needs you James, and I know she misses you. She doesn't hate you. She loves you." James sighed.

"I don't know anymore." The two sat together for several hours that night, talking about anything and everything. James had told Lily more about his family since she had found out about his parents' death, and he loved telling stories about his summer adventures with Sirius and Anna, and Lily loved hearing about them. Lily often told stories about her family too, but they were usually from when she was much younger; when she and Petunia got along.

"Well I think I should go to bed," Lily sighed, looking at her watch, breathless with laughter from one of the stories James had just told her.

"Good night," James said.

"Night." As Lily climbed the stairs to her dormitory, Lily looked back down at James, already lost in thought, staring into the fire. Lily knew it would be a long night for him.

* * *

The next morning was a Saturday, and James burst into the Gryffindor Common Room bright and early, clutching a large muffin in his hand.

"Hey Sarah, Katie, can you get Anna for me?" James stopped two girls who he knew shared a dormitory with Anna as they walked based him. They looked at each other, frowning, but eventually nodded at James and turned to go back upstairs. Anna and Alice had never exactly gotten along with their dormmates, but Katie and Sarah found James quite attractive and therefore agreed to do what he asked.

By the time Anna got down the stairs, Sirius and Peter were sitting on the couch in the common room, watching James uncertainty.

"Eat this," James said forcefully, handing Anna the muffin. He sounded a lot like their father when he spoke that way. Anna frowned at him. "Every last bite," he continued in the same voice. Anna took a bite, and then another, and soon the whole muffin was gone. For the first time since July she didn't feel sick after eating. James smiled when she was done, and gave her a tight hug. "I'm sorry I haven't been around," he said quietly. Anna cried softly into his shoulder.

* * *

A/N: I know it's a bit cheesy but w/e. So the part I had planned with Remus and Taylor didn't quite work here, so it will begin in either the next chapter or the one after that. Sorry to those of you who were looking forward to it, I hoped you liked what I put instead. It has been brought to my attention that Remus and Peter have kind of disappeared in this story. Like I said, Remus will play a huge part in the next several chapters, and Peter, well I hate him. I'll try to write him more, but if you don't see him, just assume his just kind of hanging around not really saying much. Just drooling in awe of Sirius and James. Please review! 


	4. Chapter 4

After James and Anna started talking again, things at Hogwarts seemed to fall into place. James was spending lots of time with Lily, taking care of Head duties, which Left the other three Marauders more time to spend with their girlfriends without feeling guilty about ditching James. (Peter was able to get various girl friends because of his 'Marauder' status).

In early October, Dumbledore approached Lily and James about planning a Hogwarts Christmas Ball. Many parents felt that their children would be safer at Hogwarts than at home, and therefore most students were not going home for the holidays. The ball was being planned as a way to keep the vast amount of students remaining at Hogwarts entertained.

It was now the beginning of December, and both James and Lily were dateless for the ball. Lily had been asked by a few different guys, but was holding out for someone else… James only wanted to go with Lily, but was afraid that asking her might ruin their new friendship.

"How about the Golden Centaurs?" Lily suggested as she and James sat in the heads' common room trying to choose a band for the ball.

James groaned. "Too many slow songs. What about the poor blokes without dates?"

Lily laughed. "Don't tell me you, James Potter, are worried about getting a date!"

"I'm not worried," James grumbled. "I just know I'm not going to have a date."

"Who are you and what have you done with James Potter?" joked Lily. "The Potter I know can get any girl at Hogwarts and KNOWS it."

James gave a slight laugh. "Almost any girl," he corrected. "Unfortunately there's this one girl—Oh who am I kidding? You're the one girl I want to take to the ball, and chances are you already have a date and even if you didn't, you wouldn't want to go with—"

"I don't have a date," Lily interrupted. "I have been asked, but there's someone else I've been hoping would ask me…" She smiled at James and wiggled her eyebrows. His eyes went wide and his hand flew to his hair.

"You… Do you… Lily… willyougotoballwithme?" Lily laughed.

"Yes, but please stop messing up your hair. I know you think it's cute, but I HATE it when you do that." James hand froze and he slowly padded his hair down.

"Sorry… I guess I didn't realize I was doing it…"

"You mean you don't do it because you think it looks sexy looking like you just got off a broomstick?" James grinned and shook his head.

"You think it's sexy?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at her. Lily laughed but didn't answer.

"Why do you do it than?" she asked.

"It's a nervous habit," Sirius replied, climbing through the portrait hole.

"What—wh—how did you get in here?" Lily asked, and then she turned to glare at James. "You know we aren't supposed to give our friends the password!"

"I didn't—" James began, but he was interrupted by Sirius' barking laughter.

"You hypocrite!" he laughed. "_Anna_ told me the password and I know James didn't tell her!" Lily blushed. "What did you do that made James nervous anyway, Lily?"

"He was asking me to the ball," Lily muttered, her blush deepening. Sirius' eyebrows shot up.

"And…? I didn't hear any yelling, that must be a good sign… right?"

"I said yes," Lily beamed.

"No!" Sirius exclaimed in shock. He looked back and forth between Lily and James, who each gave a slight nod, smiled, and blushed. "YES!!!!!!" Sirius exclaimed, "No more sleepless nights listening to Jamsiepoo whine about how Lily will never give him a chance!" James and Lily each blushed some more. "Hmm… speaking of the ball, I oughta go make sure I have some nice dress robes. Anna will kill me if I realize the day of the ball I have nothing to wear!" And with that, Sirius raced back out of the common room, leaving James and Lily in an awkward silence.

_Wow Sirius sure knows how to embarrass people, _thought James. "So…" James said, "how bout those Golden Centaurs?"

A/N I know, really short, but the ball chapter is going to be long, so I don't have time to get it all down right now, and I really want to get something up rather than waiting till the ball chapter is done to post. Please Review!! I have a question for those of you who don't know what to review on to answer:

I'm trying to decide how I want to end this story (don't worry, it's no where near done, but I just want to make sure I plan it out right), so here's my question; **Should this story have a happy ending that could never actually happen (based on the books) or an ending that is possible (with the books) but kind of depressing?** I'm not saying I will for sure follow what reviews say, but I am interested in readers' input. Thanks!!


	5. Chapter 5

It was mid afternoon on December 24th, the day of the ball. Taylor, Alice, and Anna had joined Lily in her head dormitory, and the four girls were getting ready and talking excitedly about the ball.

When they were finally all ready, they stood side by side in front of the mirror making sure they looked absolutely perfect before going down to meet their respective dates in the entrance hall.

Anna was wearing a short, red, halter-strap dress with her blonde hair falling around her face in long loose waves. Alice had her hair in an elegant bun. Her dress was bright blue with a beaded design on the top and no straps. Lily was wearing a green dress that matched her eyes, with her hair pulled back in a French twist. Taylor's dark hair was half up half down. She was also wearing a halter dress, but hers was long and orange, which made her naturally tanned skin appear to glow.

"Are we ready?" Anna asked excitedly. The others grinned and nodded and they headed out.

When they got to the entrance hall, Alice split off from the group to find Frank who was with some fellow 6th years, while Anna, Taylor, and Lily searched for Sirius, Remus, and James. Peter was one of the few students to have gone home for break.

The marauders looked up as the girls walked towards them and their eyes all widened a bit. James' mouth dropped to the floor.

"You look amazing," Sirius said as Anna approached him. She smiled and blushed.

"Thanks, you look pretty good yourself," she said. Sirius puffed out his chest and gave her a seductive look. Anna rolled her eyes.

"Annnddd you just ruined it."

"What?" Sirius wined.

"You know I don't like a pompous ass." Sirius pouted and Anna laughed.

Meanwhile, James still stood gaping at Lily, who was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Sirius, Anna, Remus, and Taylor all looked at James expectantly.

"Wow… Lily… you… wow," James stuttered.

"Keep it in your pants James," said Anna. Everyone laughed except James, who turned to glare at his sister. Lily blushed deeply, but let out a giggle.

"Come on James," she said grabbing his arm, "lets go check out the ball."

Sirius and Anna watched James and Lily dancing together as they took a break from dancing themselves to have a drink.

"James sure is making an ass of himself tonight," Sirius said noticing James seemed to be still stuttering whenever he spoke to Lily. James tripped right at that moment. "Nice one Prongs!" Sirius yelled. James blushed while Lily laughed.

"Yeah," Anna agreed, "Lily loves it though." She scanned the hall. "Have you seen Remus and Taylor?"

"Nah, they're probably shagging." Taylor hit Sirius' arm playfully. "What! It's about time Remus got some action!"

Anna laughed. "You're one to talk. You better not have 'gotten any action' as you put it over the past year and a half!"

"Well I haven't, but we could fix that tonight if you wanted." He raised his eyebrows suggestively, and Anna smacked him again, but harder. "Ugh! I'm only joking!" Anna rolled her eyes, but laughed. She stood up, grabbed Sirius' hand and pulled him to his feet.

"C'mon, .lets go dance!"

Taylor walked around the Hogwarts grounds, alone, sticking close to the castle so Remus could find her when he came back out. He had run in to get them drinks.

"..stupid mudblood Lily Evans!" She heard someone say, "What is Potter doing with her? He's a pureblood! He shouldn't be with that trash!"

"His whole family is a load of blood traitors," another voice said, and Taylor spotted several people coming around the corner. "They're becoming nearly as bad as the Weasel clan!"

"Excuse me," Taylor interrupted angrily, "but those are two of my best friends you're talking about and they are crazy about each other, so I suggest you shut the fuck up, mind your own business, and get over your petty jealousy."

Bellatrix Black smirked. "What are you gonna do about it, mudblood?" She spat on Taylor's shoes and the people with her drew their wands. Taylor's eyes widened but she quickly overcame her fears.

"Oh please, you aren't actually stupid enough to attack me when all the teachers are n the Great Hall and could easily hear me if I were to scream, are you?" Bellatrix glared at her and she glared back.

"What's going on here?" Remus asked, running over with drinks in his hands. Bellatrix and Taylor continued to glare each other down before Bella finally looked away.

"Nothing," She said, "just a small disagreement." She turned and walked away, her fellow Slytherins trailing behind. Remus glared after them.

"Everything alright?" he asked finally, turning back to Taylor, who nodded, but didn't look at him. She was staring in the opposite direction, and Remus looked to follow her gaze. She was staring at the whomping willow.

"Will you take me to the shrieking shack?" Remus sighed.

"You don't wanna go there. It's cold and—"

"It'd make me feel a lot better to know where you disappear to once a month," Taylor interrupted.

"Are you sure?" Taylor turned to look at him and nodded. "Alright," he took her hand in his, "let's go."

Remus led the way through the secret passage to the shrieking shack. He pointed his wand at the fire place when they entered the shack, muttered something, and warm fire was instantly crackling in the hearth. Taylor went to sit down beside the fire, and Remus conjured a blanket and sat down beside her, covering them both with it.

Remus stared at Taylor intently as she gazed around the room. She finally turned to him, and opened her mouth to say something. Before she had a chance, he leaned into kiss her. Remus ran his hands gently through her hair as Taylor pulled off his sports jacket, unbuttoned his shirt, and ran her hands over his muscular chest.

After several minutes, Taylor pulled away. "Remus," she said, her voice shaking, "could you help me with my dress?" His eyes widened.

"A-are you sure?" She nodded.

"I'm sure… that is if you wanna…"

"Well of course, but you're absolutely sure you want to do this?" Taylor bit her lip, grinned, and nodded. Remus beamed and moved foreward to help Taylor unzip her dress.

* * *

Anna walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. She and Sirius had split to go to their seperate dormitories about half an hour earlier, but after getting changed and crawling into bed, Anna realized that she really wanted to spend the night with him. As she reached the door and placed her hand on the door knob, Anna heard the sounds of a guitar and singing. _What?_ she thought, _radios dont work at Hogwarts! _She entered quietly, but Sirius still heard. He quickly turned to look at her, but couldn't manage to hide the guitar he had been playing.

"You play the guitar _and_ sing?" Anna asked, "how did I not know this!?"

Sirius blushed and shrugged, "I guess I never told anyone. I only do it when no one else is around."

"But I live with you! How--"

"Gotta love sound proof walls," Sirius grinned. Anna smiled, then frowned.

"But why didn't you tell me?" she asked, moving to sit beside him on his bed. Sirius moved the guitar to make room before answering.

"I don't know... embarrassed I guess," Sirius shrugged again.

"Don't be embarrassed!" Anna exclaimed. She giggled. "I think it's sexy." Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. "Seriously though, I don't want you to ever be embarrassed around me, ok? I love you no matter what." Sirius nodded.

"I love you too." He leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"So, will you play me a song?"

Sirius bit his lip. "I guess I could." He picked the guitar back up and began to play.

_Desperate for changing, starving for truth I'm closer to where I started while chasing after you I'm falling even more in love with you Letting go of all I've held on to I'm standing here until you make me move I'm hanging by a moment here with you Forgetting all I'm lacking, completely incomplete I'll take your invitation, you take all of me now I'm falling even more in love with you Letting go of all I've held on to I'm standing here until you make me move I'm hanging by a moment here with you I'm living for the only thing I know I'm running and not quite sure where to go And I don't know what I'm diving into Just hanging by a moment here with you There's nothing else to lose, there's nothing else to find There's nothing in the world that can change my mind There is nothing else There is nothing else There is nothing else Desperate for changing, starving for truth I'm closer to where I started while chasing after you I'm falling even more in love with you Letting go of all I've held on to I'm standing here until you make me move I'm hanging by a moment here with you I'm living for the only thing I know I'm running and not quite sure where to go And I don't know what I'm diving into Just hanging by a moment here with you Just hanging by a moment Hanging by a moment Hanging by a moment Hanging by a moment here with you_

Anna leaned into kiss Sirius as the song finished. "That was amazing," she whispered.

* * *

A/N so I know the whole any one in Hogwarts singing and playing an instrument thing is kinda cheesy, but it has a point later so idk w/e. Get over it. haha

Please Review!


	6. Chapter 6

Taylor, Remus, Anna, Sirius, James, Lily, and even Peter had never been happier as they were in the month following Christmas. Lily and James were together officially—finally! And things were going perfectly for both Remus and Taylor and Sirius and Anna. Even Anna and Lily were getting along now that Lily was with James.

Though everyone was very busy—preparing for NEWTS, quidditch practice, head/prefect duties—they all also made lots of time to spend together. Everyone but Anna would be leaving Hogwarts for good in just a few short months, and they were all feeling anxious for what was to come. All they could do was hold on to what they had, and hope that some things wouldn't change at the end of the year.

* * *

Sitting in the head common room one night in early February, the group, plus Frank and Alice, were discussing what they were going to do the next year. Some, like James, were absolutely certain what the future had in store for them. Others, almost everyone else, was a little unsure.

"Nah, I'm going to be an Auror," James answered when Frank asked if he hoped to get recruited for quidditch the following year. "And marry Lily and have lots of kids of course." Lily blushed.

"What if I don't want kids?" Lily joked, laughing as James eyes popped out of his head and his mouth fell open. "I'm only joking. The fact that I want a family is one of the few things I do know about my future." James sighed in relief. _Is he really that serious about wanting to marry me? _Lily thought. She looked James over, and then smiled slightly. _Maybe that wouldn't be so bad… _

"Well at least you've got something figured out," Sirius grumbled. "I haven't got a clue."

"I think you should be a musician," Anna said, smiling, and raising her eyebrows.

"Ha!" Frank laughed, "Sirius doesn't play any instruments!" The rest of the group joined in laughing, as Sirius and Anna exchanged a secret smile.

"Actually," Sirius said, "I'll have you know I play the guitar and sing." The group laughed harder, while Anna gazed at him in surprise. He had told her only a week ago that he wasn't really comfortable with everyone knowing about his secret musical talents. "It's true!" Sirius said indignantly, and Anna smile encouragingly. "I'll prove it to you. Accio guitar." As a guitar zoomed into the common room, the laughter subsided and everyone stared in surprise and expectance at Sirius.

_Oh what a ride  
__What a perfect sky to frame __your hazel eyes  
__I scream on the inside  
__But now it feels like Ive been tranquilized  
__Oh what a fool am I to be tongue tied  
__Sitting next to her  
__The princess and the passenger  
__You touch the rain and suddenly there's waterfalls  
__Now everyday there's something more worth fighting for  
__Baby you make the sun shine down  
__You make the sun shine down  
__You could paint the darkest clouds and turn them into rainbows  
__You take your secret smile the one that turns me on  
__Hey girl you've been what I'm waiting for  
__Feet back on the pavement to the basement  
__On the bright side of the road  
__Fumbling my lines to a lazy cat on the step outside her door  
__She opens up and I'm in the Polaroid standing next to her  
__The princess and the passenger  
__Touching the rain and suddenly there's waterfalls  
__Now everyday there's something more worth living for  
__Baby you make the sun shine down  
__You make the sun shine down  
__You could paint the darkest clouds and turn them into rainbows  
__You take your secret smile the one that turns me on (turns me on)  
__Hey girl you've been what I'm waiting for  
__On a day like this when the world is elevated  
__On a day like this when I know just why I waited  
__On a day like this when the world is elevated  
__On a day like this when I know just why I waited  
__Baby you make the sun shine down  
__You make the sun shine down  
__You could paint the darkest clouds and turn them into rainbows  
__You take your secret smile(smile) the one that turns me on  
__Hey girl you've been what I'm waiting for _

"Wow…" Lily said.

"Sirius that was really good!" exclaimed Taylor.

"How did we not know about this?" Remus asked gesturing to himself, Peter and James. "I mean… we've LIVED with you the past 7 years!" Sirius laughed.

"Is that about Anna?" asked Alice.

Sirius blushed. "Of course it is. All my songs are about Anna. Anna blushed as well and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

"So I take back what I said… you can definitely play an instrument." Frank said. "And I'm with Anna. You should be a musician." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Really… ya think?" Sirius asked. "I mean it'd be great, but you really think I'm good enough?"

"Definitely."

* * *

Remus sat in Transfiguration a few days later staring in horror at his homework planner.

"Whatcha looking at?" Sirius asked leaning in to look over his friend's shoulder. Remus pointed at the calendar, but didn't speak: Full moon, February 14th.

"Oh shit…" Sirius hit James and gestured for him to look at the calendar. James rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry Remus. It's not your fault. Taylor will understand." He turned back to passing notes with Lily." Sirius swatted him again. James groaned, as he turned back to his friends, slightly annoyed.

"What about ME?!" Sirius asked. "I can help it!"

"Anna knows you go with Remus every month. She won't mind, and if she does… you CAN help it. So don't do." He turned to read the note Lily had just passed him, but before he had a chance to read it, Sirius hit him a third time.

"WHAT?!" James whisper-yelled.

"What about you?!"

"What about me? I'll just…" A look of comprehension spread across James face as he remembered that Lily didn't know, and probably wouldn't approve of him being an illegal animagus. "Oh shit."

* * *

"Hey Lily," James said as they sat together in the common room studying that night. "Do you um… do you know what a week from today is?"

"Valentines day," Lily smiled.

"Yeah… and the full moon."

"Oh no! Poor Remus. I'm sure Taylor will understand though. I mean, how could she not?"

"Yeah, no of course Taylor will understand. That's what I told Remus, but um... here's the thing… since fifth year, Peter, Sirius, and I have… well, we've... we've gone with him."

"What?! How!? James that's really dangerous!"

"Not really… werewolves don't affect animals, see, and…" James paused. "Don't freak out, ok?" Lily nodded as James got up from his spot on the coach and walked to an open spot of the common room. He closed his eyes for a minute in concentration, and suddenly a beautiful stag stood in his place.

"Oh my God," Lily said in shock. "That's incredible! And illegal." The stag turned back into James.

"I know," he said, "that's why you can't tell anyone. I'm trusting you." Lily nodded.

"I won't." She promised. "Are Peter and Sirius stags too?"

"Peter's a rat. Sirius' a dog." Lily laughed.

"He would be a dog." James grinned.

"So, you want to go with Remus next week?"

"It's just… he hasn't gone a full moon without us since fifth year, and I'll stay behind if you want me to, but I—" Lily cut him off.

"No, I think you should go with Remus. We can always celebrate Valentines Day the next day."

"Definitely," James said, leaning in to kiss her. "You're amazing, you know that?" Lily beamed.

* * *

"Hey Anna, I need to talk to you about something," Sirius said, sneaking up on her studying in the library with Alice and Frank. She got up and they walked a few feet away.

"Full moon. Valentine's Day." Anna stated. "I know. We'll celebrate the 15th, ok?" Sirius laughed.

"Do you always know everything?"

"Obviously not or I wouldn't be stuck studying!" He laughed again and kissed her briefly.

"Come find me when you get back to Gryffindor, ok?" Anna nodded. She kissed him on the cheek and turned back to join Alice and Frank.

* * *

"I've got some bad news, Taylor," Remus said as they did they're patrols together. "The full moon falls on kind of a bad night this month."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah… the 14th." Taylor didn't say anything. "I-I'm really sorry… I—" Taylor laughed.

"You don't really think I'd be mad at you for something like that, do you?!" Remus shrugged. "Remus I know that's not your fault! I'm a little sad I won't get to be spending time with you, but it's not a big deal." Remus sighed in relief.

"Have I told you recently how much I love you?"

* * *

It was February 14th, and the Ravenclaw common room was swarming with couples, so Taylor decided to go to the prefects' common room to hang out with Lily.

"Hello mudblood," Taylor heard as she walked down what she thought was an empty hall. Bellatrix Black and Rodlphus Lestrange stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello," Taylor replied icily. Bellatrix had been muttering things at her every time they passed in the halls since their run in at the Christmas Ball.

"You shouldn't be wondering the halls alone at night you know," Bellatrix said. "It's dangerous. Where's that boyfriend of yours? Or those blood traitor friends, like that cousin of mine?"

"Thanks for the warning," Taylor said, walking past the two Slytherins to continue to the prefects' common room.

"Hey! I'm not done talking to you mudblood! Come back here!" Bellatrix pulled out her wand when Taylor didn't turn around. "Aveda Kedavra!"

* * *

A/N Please Review! Merry Christmas!


	7. Chapter 7

"Happy Valentine's Day," Anna said, wrapping her arms around Sirius and kissing his cheek the next morning. "How was your night?"

"It was alright," Sirius answered sleepily. "I missed you." Anna blushed as he pulled her in for a kiss.

"C'mon," Anna said, dragging Sirius towards the portrait hole, "I'm hungry."

"But it's Saturday!" Sirius wined. "We have time." He kissed her again. Sirius led the way to the couch, still kissing Anna, but stopped abruptly when he heard her stomach grumble. He let out a bark like laugh, grabbed Anna's hand and started walking back towards the portrait hole.

"I _guess_ we can get you some food first!" he sighed, but smiled.

* * *

Peter, Frank, Alice, James, and Lily were already in the Great Hall by the time Sirius and Anna made it down.

"Where's Taylor?" Anna asked as she slid into a seat beside Alice. Though Taylor was in Ravenclaw, she often joined her friends in Gryffindor for meals.

"Is she at the Ravenclaw table?" Lily asked, turning to search the other house's table.

"Maybe she went up to see Remus?" suggested Peter.

"Probably," Alice agreed. "They did plan to make today their Valentine's Day after all.

"Can I speak to the seven of you privately in my office after breakfast?" Professor McGonagall asked, approaching the table ten minutes later.

"Uhh… sure," answered James, raising his eyebrows in confusion at his friends.

"Any idea what that's about?" Sirius asked as McGonagall walked away.

"Not a clue…"

* * *

Not half an hour later, the group was assembled outside the headmistress's office. James raised his fist to knock, but they were beckoned in before he even got the chance.

"Please, be seated," McGonagall said, gesturing to the chairs around the office, "I'm afraid I have some bad news. Last night… there was an… an... an _incident_." Lily and Anna turned to stare at the Marauders, assuming the incident had something to do with Remus, and that the boys had failed to mention it to them. James shook his head ever so slightly, a deep frown etched across his face.

"Taylor seems to have been wandering alone last night, and…" the professor trailed off, wiping her eyes quickly. "she was attacked. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, sh—"

"She's alright though, right?" Anna cried. McGonagall fixed Anna with a look no one had ever before seen on her. It was pity, combined with… something else. The Professor took a deep breath.

"She's dead." She paused. "I'm so sorry." Lily turned to bury her face in James' chest, and he buried his in her hair, rubbing her back gently. Frank and Alice did the same. Sirius and Peter bowed their heads, and Anna stared dumbfounded at the headmistress.

"Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke," Anna whispered after several minutes, her voice cracking as she spoke. McGonagall slowly shook her head.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated.

"Excuse me," Anna said, getting out of her chair and rushing out of the Professor's office. Sirius quickly followed after her. James eyes followed his sister and best friend out the door, before he turned to McGonagall.

"Do you know who did it?" he asked.

"We can only guess," she said. "We may never know."

James nodded slowly, before speaking again. "Professor, does Remus know?" McGonagall shook her hear.

"I thought it might be best if you or perhaps Mr. Black told Mr. Lupin."

James nodded again. "Yeah, I'll tell him."

* * *

"Oh Anna, I take it you must have heard the news about your poor friend?" Someone taunted as Anna ran down the hall. She halted instantly and turned to face who had spoken. Bellatrix Black stood before her, grinning.

"You bitch!" Anna screeched, launching herself at Bella. The two girls were quickly pulled apart as Sirius came around the corner.

"What the hell is going on?" Sirius asked looking back and forth between his cousin and his girlfriend.

"It was her," Anna said, simply, choking back a sob, and struggling against Sirius to get back at Bellatrix.

"Wh--?" Sirius started, and then he realized what Anna meant. He stumbled back against the wall, but didn't let go of Anna. "This is all my fault…" Bellatrix grinned before stalking off. Sirius slid down the wall, pulling Anna along with him, his mouth hanging open in horror. He pulled her to him as she let out a sob, and buried her face in his chest.

* * *

"Hey James," Remus said as James pulled a chair next to his bed in the Hospital Wing, "have you seen Taylor?"

"That's um, actually what I came to talk to you about," James said slowly. Remus stared at his friend in confusion. "God, I don't know how to tell you this," James continued, rubbing his hands roughly over his face.

"James, what is it?" Remus asked, beginning to panic when James looked up, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "James, come on, you can tell me."

"She was attacked last night." James took a deep breath. Remus turned away, he had an awful feeling of what was coming. "Remus, sh—she's dead."

* * *

AN: Ok, so I know the last couple chapters have been kind of depressing, and the next couple probably will be, but it will get better. So yeah, Taylor really is dead. I know some of you will probably hate me for that, but I really like Tonks, so whether this story ends happily or not (I'm not giving it away), Taylor and Remus had to end somehow, and I couldn't see them breaking up, PLUS this is important to the rest of the plot I have set up.

PLEASE REVIEW!!

Also, sorry its so short and sorry if there are any mistakes in this, I'm exhausted from getting literally NO sleep last night, and I'm kinda rushed to get this done before I have to go to work / Happy New Year!


	8. Chapter 8

Several students passed by Anna and Sirius as they sat together in the hall. Anna didn't seem to notice, but the intrigued glances of passersby annoyed Sirius. Couldn't anyone tell he and Anna wanted privacy?

"You wanna go for a walk?" Sirius asked when Anna's crying quieted down a bit. "Get some privacy?" Anna nodded and wiped her eyes before being helped up by Sirius.

They walked in silence for a while, with Anna leading the way.

"You're not leading us outside, are you?" Sirius finally asked when he realized where they seem to be headed. Anna merely nodded in response. "It's February! You'll freeze! You're going to get sick!" Anna merely shrugged and kept walking towards the great oak doors that would lead to the bitter cold outdoors. Sirius sighed and kept walking with her. He pulled off the hoody he was wearing and handed it to Anna. "I'm only letting you go outside if you wear this."

She smiled slightly. "What makes you think I need your permission to go outside?"

"I didn't say I would forbid it. I have other ways of stopping you from going out!" He tickled her just long enough to hear her laugh and then stopped.

"Now you're going to freeze!" Anna said, looking at Sirius in his t-shirt. Sirius shrugged.

"I'll be all right." Anna smiled for a moment as she put on Sirius' sweatshirt, but the smile was quickly replaced by a frown. For one brief moment she had forgotten about her best friend's death, and though it felt better to thing about something else, Anna felt guilty for forgetting her friend, however momentarily it may have been.

"Anna, I'm so sorry," Sirius said seeing her frown. "This is all my fault."

"What? No, you were just trying to make me feel better, it's not—"

"No. I mean… what happened… if it wasn't for me being Bella's cousin she wouldn't have given a damn about—"

"Sirius, Bellatrix and Taylor got in a spat at the Christmas Ball. Bellatrix has been bothering Taylor ever sense, probably just waiting for a chance to… it is NOT your fault." Sirius let out a small sigh of relief. What Anna had said didn't make him feel any better about Taylor's death, but it was a relief to know it had nothing to do with him. For a while it felt to him as though he had killed one of his closest friends, and that was a feeling Sirius could not handle.

Anna had begun walking again and was about to pull one of the oak doors open, but Sirius reached out and grabbed her arm, gently pulling her back to him and embracing her. "I love you," he said, tears escaping from his eyes as Anna began sobbing once more. _At least she's letting it out this time. _

"Mr. Black, Mrs. Potter," said Professor Flitwick, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but the other students will be coming down for lunch soon, at which point Dumbledore will be making an… announcement to the school. I'm assuming you probably aren't ready to see your fellow students yet," Sirius and Anna nodded in response to this statement, "so I suggest you go now to the Head Common Room. We'll be sure to conjure up some extra beds so you can all stay there for as long as you like."

"Thank you Professor." Sirius and Anna separated and walked hand in hand up to the heads common room, taking back routes to avoid running into other students.

* * *

Lily, Alice, Peter, and Frank were already seated in the common room when Sirius and Anna arrived. All four had puffy eyes, and were sitting in silence. Anna and Sirius took seats side by side on the coach. 

"Where is James?" Anna asked.

"Talking to Remus," sniffed Lily. "Has been for the last couple hours." Sirius sighed.

"I think I should go join them," he said, getting up to leave the common room. As he was climbing through the portrait hole, he turned back. "C'mon Petey, you better come too." Peter scrambled up and quickly followed Sirius out.

* * *

"Remus, sh—she's dead." 

Remus didn't say anything for a long time. The only sound in the whole Hospital Wing was that of Remus' shaky breaths.

"Are you ok?" James asked finally. Remus didn't speak. "Remus, are you alright?" Still nothing. "C'mon Moony. Talk to me_, please_. Are you ok?"

"No I am bloody well not ok!" Remus finally exploded. "Damnit James! How could I 'be alright'?" He sat up and sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "Damnit James," Remus said more calmly now, but choking back sobs, "how could this happen?" James hesitated for only a brief moment before hugging his friend, who was heaving full-blown sobs now. Remus sobbed until he couldn't breath, calmed himself and choked "How could this happen? Why her? Why now? Why…?"

"I don't know," James whispered, as the two boys separated, both wiping their eyes, Remus still heaving with less violent sobs. "It's gonna be alright though. I promise." Remus shook his head and gestured to the night stand beside his bed

"Open the drawer," he muttered. James did as he was told, and pulled out a small box.

"Oh my God," James said. He had a feeling he knew what was in the box. He opened the box and pulled out a small, but beautiful diamond ring.

"It was all I could afford," Remus muttered.

"You were going to propose?"

"Today," Remus confirmed, before beginning to sob again. "I don't know why I thought I deserved her for the rest of my life he choked. "She shouldn't have been with me at all! I knew I shouldn't be with anyone, and to take the life of someone so amazing—"

"Remus! You better not be saying what I think you're saying! This is not your fault and she sure as hell didn't die because she's dating a werewolf!"

"It's all my fault James! If she was dating someone else she would have been safe with them on Valentine's Day rather than out wondering the halls alone!"

"Anna says Bella's been after Taylor since a run-in they had at the Christmas Ball," Sirius cut in. He and Peter had entered the room moments previous. "She would have gotten to her eventually." Remus bowed his head, tears continuing to spill down his face. If anyone else would have seen Remus cry he would have been humiliated, but there was something comforting about having his friends around at that moment.

"It was Bellatrix?" James asked. "For sure?" Sirius nodded as he and Peter walked closer to James and Remus.

"Is that a wedding ring?" Peter asked, spotting the box and ring still clutched in James' hand.

"Engagement," Remus corrected, sniffling.

"Remus she would have been so happy," Sirius said. "She loved you so much. I know she wouldn't change your relationship for anything, and you know she'd kick your ass for saying this is your fault or for wishing you could change things between the two of you." Remus gazed at Sirius in surprise. He'd never heard so much emotion in Sirius' voice. Remus gave a half smile.

"Of course I wouldn't change anything. It just hurts so goddamn much."

The marauders returned to the common room late that night and were not surprised to find everyone else asleep. James and Sirius carried Lily and Anna up to Lily's bedroom, but left Alice looking comfortably snuggled up to Frank. Then, they followed Remus and Peter up to James' room to sleep.

* * *

Remus woke up in the middle of the night with a smile on his face. He had proposed to Taylor and Taylor had said yes. He couldn't believe they were going to be married. They had decided on a fall wedding, about 6 months after school let out. The smile quickly faded as Remus realized it had all been a dream, and memories of what had really happened that day flooded his mind. Remus crawled out of bed with a deep sigh, and quietly left the room. 

"Padfoot, you awake?" James asked.

"Mhmm."

"Come on, lets go talk to him. It's only been a day since his last transformation. He really needs sleep." James and Sirius quickly followed Moony down to the common room, finding him staring into the fire.

"Remus, c'mon," James said, "go to bed. I know you're hurting, but you need sleep." Remus didn't even turn around.

"Moony," Sirius said forcefully. He didn't continue until Remus had turned around, then he said gently and confidently "It's gonna be alright." Remus frowned, but nodded and followed his best friends up the stairs.

* * *

It had been a month, and Taylor's close friends were still mourning. They had fallen into a monotonous routine of meals, sleeping, classes, and for all but Remus and Lily, quidditch. The routine was beginning to kill Sirius. There were no pranks, no laughter among his friends. Thinking about Taylor drove him mad, but if he didn't thinking about it, he could by. However he couldn't get by seeing all his friends in so much pain everyday. 

_What can I do? How can I fix this? _All he could think about everyday and night was how to make his friends feel better. Finally, in desperation he came up with a plan for a prank which he would regret for the rest of his life.

James, Sirius, Anna, Lily, Frank, Alice, and Peter sat in the head common room on the night of the full moon. Remus had insisted that he needed to be alone for this particular full moon. It was the first one the other three marauders hadn't accompanied him on in three years.

"Hey guys!" Sirius called everyone over to look out this window, seeing his plan was working. "Snivellus is trying to get through the whomping willow!" He let out a loud laugh.

"WHAT?" Lily panicked.

"Don't worry," said James. "He wouldn't be able to figure out how to get past it."

"He could get past if someone told him how." Sirius grinned mischievously.

"You didn't!"

"I did!" Sirius began laughing hysterically.

"Shit!" James yelled running out the door.

"James, Wait--!" Anna called, but he was long gone. Anna walked over to Sirius and smacked him upside the head to make him stop laughing. "What the bloody hell were you thinking?! Snape could get hurt—killed! You could be expelled! Snape could tell everyone Remus' secret!"

"Shit," Sirius muttered as he realized what he'd done. "I just… wanted to make you all laugh. Do you realize how long it's been since any one of you has laughed, or even_ smiled_?" Alice forced a sympathetic smile to show Sirius she at least appreciated his intentions. Frank, Lily and even Peter simply shook their heads at Sirius. Anna was fuming.

"You are the biggest idiot I have ever known!" she yelled. "Tomorrow you are going to explain to Remus exactly what happened and I'll talk to you again when he does. Unless of course my brother becomes a werewolf or dies trying to save Snape, in which case… I don't even know what I'll do, but you better believe I'll make hell for you!" Sirius stared at her in shock before leaving the common room.

Lily and Anna paced nervously the entire time James as gone. Finally he came in through the portrait hole, looking exhausted but unharmed.

"What happened?" Lily exclaimed.

"Snape glimpsed Remus, but he's ok. Dumbledore's trying to convince him not to tell anyone right now. Where is Sirius? Dumbledore wants to speak with him."

"We don't know," Anna admitted. "I yelled at him and then he left." James sighed.

"Alright, well I'm gonna go find him. You guys should probably get some sleep, we have class tomorrow." James kissed Lily goodnight, hugged Anna, and scurried out of the common room once more.

* * *

James was pretty sure he knew where to find Sirius. He marched right up to Gryffindor tower, through the common room, and up to the boys' dormitory, where, sure enough, he found Sirius sitting on his bead. 

"Dumbledore wants to talk to you." James said. Sirius nodded.

"Are you mad at me?"

"I don't know, you fucked up pretty bad. I'll have to see how Remus feels when you tell him what happened tomorrow morning. My guess is I'm probably pretty pissed."

"So if he hates me, are you going to hate me too?" James frowned.

"Go talk to Dumbledore."

* * *

Needless to say, Remus had been incredibly angry when Sirius told him what had happened. Sirius had barely escaped expulsion, but with the way his friends were treating him, he would have rather been expelled. For as long as Remus refused to talk to Sirius, none of the others would talk to him, with the exceptions of in class and at quidditch practice, but even then it was minimal. The only good thing, and it hadn't escaped Sirius' attention, was that his friends' anger for him seemed to be distracting them from their pain of losing Taylor. 

They had by now, all returned to sleeping in their normal dormitories, which gave Sirius plenty of options to try to reconcile with Remus, but he gave up after the first few days.

* * *

Late one night, about a week and a half after Sirius' failed prank, he was sitting on a couch in the Gryffindor common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed, drinking a bottle of fire whisky, and rereading over and over again one single line from a letter his mother had sent (a first in several years): 

_Regulus has followed his rightful path and joined the death eaters. _

Sirius took another swig of whisky as he read the line. It had only been a few days before that Regulus had attempted to talk to Sirius. Sirius had been so frustrated, he simply ignored his brother. _Could one conversation have made the difference?_

"What are you doing up so late?" asked Veronica Brooks, a door mate of Alice and Anna, who had one of the worst reputations in Hogwarts. Sirius looked at her, wearing next to nothing as she came and sat on the arm rest beside him. She picked up the bottle he had been drinking from and took a swig, slipping into his lap. She ran one hand through his hair and the other across his chest. "Come on," she whispered in his ear as she nibbled on it. "I'll make you feel all better." She pushed her lips against his. He kissed her back, parting his lips to allow her tongue entry. She smiled and began to pull his shirt up over his head. Sirius pulled away.

"I can't do this," he said. Veronica smiled as she looked around at all the empty bottles of fire whisky.

"Don't kid yourself baby; you lost control about three bottles ago."

* * *

"Anna, I need to talk to you," Sirius said two days later, cornering her in the common room. 

"Has Remus forgiven you?" Sirius sighed and shook his head. Anna shrugged and tried to walk past him. "Can't help you then."

"Anna please! It's important." Anna sighed and allowed him to lead her out of the common room, down the hall and into an empty classroom.

"So, what was so important you needed to talk to me about?"

"Two nights ago… I was drunk and upset, and," Sirius hesitated, "I cheated on you with Veronica." Anna stared at him with wide eyes.

"Did you… what did you… did you have…?" Sirius nodded slowly.

"I'm so sorry. I would never, ever have done it, except for—"

"Did you think we were broken up?" Anna interrupted.

"What?"

"Did you think that, because we weren't talking and we were fighting we were broken up?" Sirius began to shake his head, and opened his mouth, but Anna cut him off. "Because if you thought we were broken up, I can't really be mad at you." Anna's eyes were begging him to lie, and he stared at her like he'd never seen her before.

"No. I didn't think we were broken up," Sirius admitted. He didn't want to lie, and he couldn't believe she was giving him the chance. Anna stared up and the ceiling and blinked sever times.

"Well, I guess I'll talk to you again when Remus does," she said finally, before turning to leave. Sirius sighed and soon followed her out. He walked to the great hall for breakfast and was surprised when he was greeted by James and Remus.

* * *

"Your cousin got expelled," James announced. 

"Bella?" Remus nodded.

"We heard you told Dumbledore about what happened."

"Yeah, when he was talking to me about that night… with Snape… I told him…"

"Thanks," Remus said.

Sirius shrugged, "She was guilty."

"But she was family," said James.

"But I hate my family." Remus groaned.

"Sirius, we're trying to say that it's even now. You're forgiven. Unless you don't wa—"

"Really?!" James and Remus nodded, and Sirius did a little dance. He stopped suddenly when he saw Anna. "Actually… don't forgive me yet… I kinda messed up again James…"

* * *

AN: Wow a lonnngggg chapter! And 2 updates in one day! Lucky for you all my place of business was extremely slow today due to the overwhelming cold, so I got sent home early, where I was confined due to the fact that I was "out all night last night and gone all week and need to relax and catch up on sleep before going back to school tomorrow." My parents currently think I'm doing homework…. 

Anyway, another kind of depressing chapter, but like I've already said, don't worry it'll get happy again eventually. Just bear with me.

Nextbestthing: I'm sure you're upset with me again, but all I can say is sorry. It's my story, and it helps move the plot I have planned out, sooooo sorry! Don't worry though. Anna's tough, though she may not always seem like it. She'll get by. As for Taylor, yeah there were other ways I could have gotten rid of her, but like I said I didn't want her and Remus to fall out of love, and I don't think her changing schools would make them break up. He wanted to marry her after all. Oh, and she would have said yes. Plus, it helps with the plot. It makes something coming up make more sense, and I'm really excited for that part, so there is no way I'm changing it. Hope this doesn't change your mind about the story.

Other reviewers: thank you! Please keep reviewing and I'll keep updating!


	9. Chapter 9

James groaned. "What'd you do now?"

Sirius hesitated. Then, "I got a letter a few nights ago." He paused for a moment, only going on when James and Remus motioned for him to continue. He sighed. "Regulus joined the death eaters…" Sirius paused again.

"But… that's not your fault, Sirius," Remus began, "And well… it's not exactly a surprise, is it? You always said that's where Regulus was headed…"

"That's not the end of the story," James interrupted. "Is it Sirius?" Remus turned his attention back to Sirius, who shook his head.

He took a deep breath and continued; "I was upset… about the news… and none of you talking to me, and… I got a little drunk. And no one was around, but then Veronica Brooks came down, and she was… and I.. I was…"

James stood up, and spoke in a dangerously low voice; "You cheated on Anna." It wasn't a question, but a statement; James knew it was true. Regardless, Sirius knew James wanted confirmation, and he slowly nodded. James was shaking with fury as he took deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. Sirius stood so he was at the same level as James and opened his mouth to speak, but before he had a chance, James had seized the front of his robes. "That's my baby sister!" James yelled, before punching his best friend in the face.

The whole hall went silent, and Anna and Lily quickly jumped up to pull James away from Sirius. It was unnecessary though, as James was clearly shocked by what he had done. None of the marauders had ever been angry enough with one another to physically fight.

Without speaking, James wiggled free of Anna and Lily's grasps and marched out of the Great Hall. Sirius quickly followed after him. Anna and Lily exchanged a nervous glance, wondering if Sirius was going to hit James back. They began following the two boys out of the hall, but Remus stopped them.

"Remus, we gotta go," Lily said anxiously. "They could be killing each other as we speak."

Remus chuckled slightly. "Lily you've known those boys as long as I have. You oughta know they would never really try to hurt each other."

"I never thought James would punch Sirius either!" Lily argued.

"Well he had good reason to," Remus said, looking pointedly at Anna. "And if they're fighting each other, well its better they get their anger out now and get over it rather than hold a grudge for the rest of their lives." Lily didn't reply, but looked between Anna and Remus in confusion. Finally, she spoke.

"What did he do Anna?"

Anna sighed and didn't answer for a moment. "I'll tell you later," she said finally. Anna glanced at the Slytherin table. "Did you hear about Bella?" Remus nodded. "I think it's good Sirius told… rather than one of us," Anna began. "Much as he says he hates his family… I think he'd be a little upset if we got his cousin thrown out of school and into Azkaban. They may not be now, but a long time ago they were actually good friends."

Remus and Lily looked at Anna in surprise. She shrugged and continued; "He told me a little while after… after… you know… anyway, he said that's why he was taking so long to turn her in, but he always planned to. He wouldn't let her get by with murder… not when it was one of his friends." Remus nodded.

"Are you still mad at him?" Anna asked. "I know its killing him…"

Remus frowned. _Does she know he cheated on her?_ "Well James and I had forgiven him for the… incident, but then he told us about his newest screw-up and—"

"Don't be mad at him for that," Anna interrupted.

"You're not angry with him?" Remus asked, shocked.

"Of course I'm angry," Anna said, "I'm angry and I'm hurt and… I _still_ love him. I know that having all of us not speaking to him is killing him. I can't be responsible for that."

"I was."

"That's different. This is just a stupid thing between him and me. I don't want anyone else getting into it. _Please._" Remus nodded.

"Can someone _please_ explain to me what is going on?" asked Lily. Anna and Remus laughed.

"Later," Anna said. "First I need to go talk to James."

* * *

"James! Wait!" Sirius yelled after his friend. James whirled around.

"Don't make me punch you again," he sighed.

"I know you're mad at me, and I probably deserve it. I just… think there's something you should know." Sirius said. James gestured for him to go on. "When I… told Anna… she… she wanted me to lie to her. She said that if I told her I thought we were broken up, and that that's why I was …_with_ Veronica, she wouldn't be mad at me, but I _know_ she knew that would've been a lie. That's just… not like Anna, and I'm kinda worried about her…" James nodded slowly.

"Well I'll talk to her…" He said. "Thanks for telling me…" Sirius nodded. The two boys stood awkwardly in the entrance hall for a moment, each waiting for the other to say something. Finally James turned away and began walking towards the head's dorm. Sirius stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked the other way.

* * *

"Hey James," Anna said, slipping into the head's common room. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

James nodded, "Of course."

"I heard Sirius told you… about what he did." James nodded, and Anna continued. "I don't want you to be angry with him."

"Anna, you're my little sister, and he _cheated _on you. And with Veronica Brooks of all people! How could I not be mad at him?"

"Trust me I know. But he's your best friend. What would you do if he cheated on any girl besides me?"

"Tell him what an idiot he is," James said.

"But you wouldn't be angry with him, not really anyway."

"You're not just any girl though. You're my little sister, and I've gotta look out for you. When you were 11 years old, first coming to Hogwarts, I _promised_ mum and dad I'd take care of you."

Anna rolled her eyes and smiled. "I'm not 11 years old anymore James. I can take care of myself."

James gave a half smile, but shook his head. "You're still family, and family comes first."

"Like it came first when Sirius turned his cousin into Dumbledore?"

"That's different," James argued.

"Yeah, it is," Anna agreed. "You know what else is different?" She paused, tears forming in her eyes. "The way you and I are losing our best friends. See, I didn't have a choice in losing mine. Sometimes I guess shit just happens. You, James, are letting your best friend go, over something stupid. When we look back on this year ten years from now, do you really think Sirius cheating on me is going to be the most terrible or important thing that happened?"

"I guess not, but—"

"James, I would do anything to have my best friend back. Don't want to see you lose yours. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's this war going on… and people are dying. You've lost three people you love already this year. Don't add one more to the list."

James sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "So you've already forgiven him, just like that?"

"No, but I love him, and I'm not going to let something like this come between us. Not now."

"You let the whole incident with Snape come between you two."

Anna nodded. "I regret it. He messed up, and he knows it. I think he was mad enough at himself, that he didn't need us to be angry too. I think he feels the same way about this."

"So… you two are still… together?" James asked. Anna shook her head.

"I could never be with someone who would do that to me. No matter what the circumstances. From here on out, we are friends. Good friends."

"He said you tried to get him to lie to you."

"I was shocked. I didn't want to deal with it," Anna explained. "But I'm glad he told the truth. I don't know how long I would have been able to pretend I believed him if he lied."

James sighed, "I guess I gotta give the guy credit for fessing up and telling you the truth."

Anna nodded. "Can you forgive him?"

"I guess if you can, I can," James said. He reached out to give his sister a hug. "I'm proud of you Anna." Anna frowned in confusion.

"For what?"

"For being so strong after… with everything that's happened this year. You're right; you don't need me to take care of you anymore, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop." Anna laughed, and pulled away from James just as the portrait hole opened up. Lily, Alice, Remus, Frank, Peter, and finally Sirius crawled in.

"Upstairs, now," Lily ordered. Anna laughed again.

"Well I guess I've got some explaining to do to Lily and Alice," she said, "And I think you should probably talk to Sirius."

* * *

"Ok, so what happened, and why are we the last to know?!" Lily exclaimed.

Anna smirked, "You aren't the _last_ to know." Lily and Alice scoffed. Anna continued; "A few nights ago, Sirius was drunk and he… cheated on me with Veronica Brooks."

"Are you ok?" Lily asked gently. Anna nodded.

"Like I was telling Remus early, I'm hurt and I'm angry, but I can't hate him, and that alone makes me ok."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… I know he wouldn't have done it under any other circumstances, and therefore I partially blame myself." Alice and Lily made to argue that it was not Anna's fault, but she cut them off. "I'm only taking a tine bit of the blame! I know he's still the one in the wrong, but I also know he regrets it, and not just because it means the end of us, but because he truly feels bad for hurting me. That makes me feel a lot better, and it's going to help me forgive him so we could be friends. I can't handle not having him in my life. I can't lose one more person that I love, so being able to forgive him makes this so much easier to bare."

Lily and Alice nodded. "I can't believe this happened days ago and you're just telling us now."

Anna laughed. "Well he just told me this morning if that makes you feel any better."

"Slightly," Alice said. "You wanna know what would really make me feel better? Dying that slut Veronica Brook's hair green!" Anna's eyes widened, while Lily laughed.

"I think I know of a few pranksters who'd be willing to help you with that…"

* * *

A/N I've been so busy lately, I've kind of neglected writing this! I'm forbidden from going out tonight though, so I decided I oughta update. I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, but I really felt the need to update, so I put this together. I feel like nothing really happens, but idk... I know whats coming next, but its gonna take another chapter or two to get there. Please review and let me know what you think, and also if there are any errors in this chapter. I found a few in the last chapter, which I went back and fixed, and I'm sure there's a few in this one. Remember, reviews motivate me to write!!

Heres a poll in case you have nothing else to say:

Who is your favorite character in the story?

Anna  
Sirius  
James  
Lily  
Remus  
Taylor (was)  
Alice  
Frank  
Peter  
Other?

Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

The months leading up to summer passed quickly, too quickly in fact, it seemed. By the time graduation came, the Marauders and Lily couldn't believe they wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts again.

June passed even more quickly than the months prior to graduation, and soon it was July, the day before Anna's birthday in fact. Hogwarts letters had come early that month; it seemed the staff wanted to get information about the new protections that had been added to the castle as soon as possible in the hopes that parents would feel more comfortable about sending their children back to school despite the growing power of Voldemort and his death eaters. To no ones surprise, Anna had been made head girl and quidditch captain.

Lily, James, and Sirius were enjoying a few months of piece before their trainings began in September; Lily was becoming a healer, and James and Sirius, aurors. Remus and Peter on the other hand were spending their days job hunting, but they weren't having much luck. No one was hiring because they didn't know who to trust and didn't want to accidentally hire a death eater. Despite his good marks on the NEWTS, Remus was having an especially difficult time finding a job due to his "furry little problem".

James, Sirius, and Anna were still living in the Potter mansion, and Remus, Lily and Peter had temporarily moved in. The night before Anna's birthday found Remus in a foal mood after a particularly bad interview. The group was lounged in the family room when Remus walked in with a sour face.

"Moony, how was the interview?" James asked, not seeing his friends face. Remus just shook his head and walked over to the couch Anna was seated on. She immediately moved to make room for him, and he collapsed onto the coach with his head in his hand. His friends exchanged glances.

"Uh… Moony?" Sirius said finally, "what happened?" Remus looked up.

"I'm never going to get a job," he muttered.

"Sure you will," Lily said, attempting to cheer him up.

"No, I won't Lily," Remus said, his voice stony and harsh. "No one wants to hire a-a-a—"

"Werewolf?" Anna supplied. Remus nodded. "Well with that kind of attitude, no wonder no one's hired you. 'Oh I'm a werewolf; you don't want to hire me. I can't do anything.'" Remus turned to glare at her as she imitated him and the others raised their eyebrows. "Sorry buddy, I just speak the truth. If you never think you're good enough, you'll never be good enough." Remus smirked.

"Anna, this isn't some low self esteem thing," he said. "It's… different."

"No," Anna replied. "No, I don't think it is. Sounds like a confidence problem to me." She shrugged. "Maybe you should try a little harder."

"I've been searching for a job for hours everyday since school let out!" Remus yelled. Anna shrugged again. "Who the hell is going to hire me?!"

"Dumbledore?" Anna suggested. Remus starred at her for a moment.

"That's actually not a bad idea," James cut in. "He'd hire you Moony. You know he would." Remus turned to James now and starred, and then he chuckled.

"You just don't want to be alone at school next year," he said, turning back to Anna, who laughed somewhat nervously—thankfully no one noticed.

"Sure," she said. "Or I just think you'd be a really good teacher."

"She's right!" Peter piped up, "you always were good at teaching me!" The others nodded.

"You have to be kidding me," Remus said, although his friends could tell he liked the idea.

"C'mon Moony, just talk to Dumbledore tomorrow. Please? So we can stop listening to your whining!" James joked. Remus tried not to grin.

"Fine," he said. "But I think you'll all be disappointed by the outcome of this conversation!"

"Ah-" Lily cut in, "Are you forgetting Anna's advice already, Remus? Confidence." She raised her eyebrows as everyone laughed. She stood up, pulling James with her. "Come on," she said. "It's our night to make dinner." James groaned, but allowed her to lead him by the hand to the kitchen. Remus and Peter left the family room soon after, Remus to shower and change from his job search attire, and Peter to fill out more job applications, leaving Sirius and Anna alone together.

"You've been kind of quiet tonight Black," Anna said getting up from her spot on the couch and sitting next to him by the fire place.

He sighed. "I've got a lot on my mind."

"Like… is Auror Training really right for me?" Anna questioned. He gave her a quizzical glance. She shrugged. "It just kinda seems like you don't really know what you want to do, so you're taking the easy way out and following your best friend." Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"How do you always know everything Miss Potter" He asked. She shrugged.

"It's a gift." He laughed again.

"Well what else would I do?" He asked.

"I don't," Anna responded. "What do you _like_ to do?"

"Well… I like to fly… I'm not good enough to be a professional quidditch player though. I like… um… not a lot. You know I've never liked anything at school. That's the problem!!"

"So you like to fly…" Anna said slowly. "That's it?" Sirius studied her; she was definitely trying to lead him to something.

"Well… I like… music I guess," he said. Anna grinned. "Oh come on Anna! Seriously? A musician! What are my chances in going anywhere with that?"

"Did you miss the whole confidence lecture with Remus?" she asked, exasperatedly. He scoffed. "You're good Sirius," she said. "Real good." He shook his head, turning a slight red. "Just think about it, ok?"

"I kind of have a lot to think about as it is," he muttered.

"What? I thought this whole career thing _was_ what you were thinking about!"

"That's part of it."

"Well what's the rest of it then?"

"It's just that every time I see Lily and James together, I—"

"Sirius not this again!" Anna groaned. "We've been over this!"

"—I wonder if you'll ever give me another chance." They had been through this several times already since that fateful day that Sirius had cheated.

"No Sirius! No! I can't. You hurt me and… I just—why can't you just accept that I'm done?"

"Because I lov—"

"Don't! Please," she begged him. "Sirius if you were anyone else I would hate you for what you did. Since you're you and you were one of my best friends and I loved you, I'm trying to forgive you. I'm trying to be your friend. Please just…" They stared at each other for a moment before she turned to run up the stairs to her room.

_Were,_ was all Sirius could think as he watched her go. _I __was__ one of her best friends and she lov__ed__ me. _

Neither Sirius nor Anna came when Lily called everyone for dinner. Anna didn't come out of her room that night and Sirius stared into the fire until well after everyone else had gone to bed. When everyone else had finished eating, Lily brought a plate of food out to Sirius.

"Any idea why Anna won't let anyone into her room and refuses to come out?" She asked him. He shrugged. Lily looked at him sympathetically. "You can't blame her Sirius. You hurt her pretty bad."

"I know." The two sat in silence for a minute, until Lily got up to go check on Remus and Peter with the dishes.

"She'll come around," Lily said to Sirius, gently squeezing his shoulder before she left. "She still loves you."

* * *

The next day Anna pretended as though nothing had happened, and Sirius played along; he didn't want to ruin her birthday. That night the group went to a muggle sports bar in London, where they were joined by Alice and Frank.

The night was fun, but it only took a few drinks to get Sirius to forget his desire to not ruin Anna's birthday and start trying again to get a second chance.

"Anna, can I talk to you privately?" he leaned over an asked about half way through dinner. She glared at him. "I can do it here, but I know how you hate every one overhearing conversations like the one I'd like to have."

"Fine. Let's make it quick." She led the way outside of the bar, and as soon as they were through the door, she turned and crossed her arms. "Well?"

"Uh..." Sirius was suddenly wishing he would have just accepted her no and not insisted she talk to him. "Happy Birthday," he said lamely.

"Thanks."

"Listen Anna, I know last night you said that I should just accept your friendship, but I love you—" Anna made to interrupt, but he wouldn't let her. "And I know you love me too, so why fight it? We could both be so much happier if—"

"I'm leaving Sirius," Anna cut it.

"No, please wait! Just—just hear me out."

"No I don't mean leaving, as in going back to the table. I mean leaving… like leaving London."

"Well yeah…" Sirius said slowly. "In September you'll go back to school, but that's only for a year. I could find a place in Hogsmeade so we can still see each other…" Anna was shaking her head.

"I'm not going back to school," she said. He gaped at her. "A couple international teams have been sending me letters… trying to recruit me for this year. I've agreed to play for the Finches." Sirius stared at her in shock. When he didn't say anything, she continued. "It's just with everything going on… I feel like I need to get away for awhile. I mean, I don't even know who I am anymore!" she cried desperately. Anna took a deep breath to calm herself, "But um, with me in the US, I think it might be kind of difficult for us to have any sort of relationship so… I'm sorry. There's just no way." Both of their eyes were shining by this point. Sirius opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to speak. "I think I should go," Anna said softly, and she apparated back to the Potter mansion.

Sirius stared at the place she had been standing just moments before and then zombie walked back into the restaurant.

"Where's Anna?" James asked as soon as he spotted Sirius.

"Gone."

"Sirius!" James said in exasperation. "You couldn't have brought that conversation up at a different time?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, staring at his food.

"Well I guess we should go home then," James said, and made to call for the waiter.

"No," Lily said. "I'll go talk to her. You all stay here."

* * *

"Anna?" Lily called when she arrived home. No answer. Lily walked up to Anna's room where she saw her throwing things haphazardly into a giant duffel bag. "You going somewhere?" Lily asked, thinking maybe Anna was hoping to stay with Alice for a little while.

"Lily," Anna said, turning around. She grinned nervously. "Um… what are you doing here?"

"Sirius told us you left. I came to talk to you, try to cheer you up."

"Oh," Anna said. "Well thanks, but I'm ok. You can go back to the restaurant." Lily looked between Anna and the duffel.

"Where ya going?" Anna glanced at the duffel too.

"Oh that um… just… the United States," Anna mumbled, hoping Lily would mishear her.

"WHAT?!" Lily asked. "Why would you be going there?

"Um… because the Finches asked me to."

"Oh my God, Anna that's amazing! But why do they need you to go so early?"

"Well it's for this fall Lils…"

"This fall? Anna, what about school?"

"I don't need to finish school to play quidditch Lily."

"But after you retire. What are you going to do then?"

"I don't need school to open a dress shop either," Anna smirked.

Lily sighed. "But Anna, you're head girl and quidditch captain! You're throwing away your dreams." Anna laughed, slightly bitterly.

"No Lily, those are your dreams. And James dreams. I couldn't care less about those things. My dream is to be a professional quidditch player, and I'm going after that."

"But 7th year is so great you don't wanna miss that!"

"LILY! You don't get it! I hate it there! I can't spend another year there!" Anna was starting to cry now. "My best friend was murdered there. The love of my life, broke me heart there. I lost myself there. I don't even know who I am anymore, and I can't go on not knowing! At the very least, hopefully this will help me… find me…"

"But Anna," Lily said gently. "You can wait a year, finish your education. You can't leave your friends. Not yet. Not now."

"What friends?" Anna asked. "You've all graduated. Taylor… I'm not going to play third wheel to Alice and Frank. You think I'll be happier hanging out with Veronica Brooks and the gossip queens for a year? There's _nothing_ for me there Lils." Slowly, Lily nodded.

"I understand," she said, "but what about James? He needs you here. And Sirius, Remus, and Peter. And me." She added as an afterthought. "You could maybe take a year off to just hang out here and then go back. I'm sure Dumbledore would allow it."

"James… has you now," Anna began, "and you have him. And Sirius, Remus, and Peter have each other. You'll all be fine with out me. I think it'll be good for Sirius actually. Remus too; I can't look at him with out thinking of her, and… I think he feels the same way. Peter and I have never been that close. It's just, what happens when Remus goes off to work at Hogwarts, you and James get married like I'm certain you will, and Peter gets some job, meets a girl, and moves out. Sirius and I won't move on as long as we see each other everyday, and then we'll just be stuck. I can't take that."

Lily studied Anna for a long while and finally nodded. "I know this isn't what you were looking for and it doesn't really matter, but I see where you're coming from and you have… you have… my blessing I guess."

"Thanks Lily. You have no idea how much that means to me. You'll probably be the only person supporting me in this." The two girls hugged and wiped their eyes as they pulled away. "Who would have thought after all the times I was angry at you for not giving James a chance we'd ended up good friends?" They both laughed.

"Will you at least wait to say good bye to the guys?" Lily asked. Anna hesitated.

"I don't think I can," She said finally, just as they heard four faint pops outside the Potter's front gate. "Shit," Anna muttered. "I have to go. Now. Tell them… Tell them I'm sorry, and I love them, and… and to keep in touch." Lily nodded.

"Good luck, Anna." Anna took one more look around her room, before heading out her window on her room. She flew far enough to where she could apparate and then disappeared. Lily watched out the window, hoping Anna would change her mind and fly back, but she didn't. Soon after Anna disapperated, the marauders burst into the room. Sirius had eventually caved and told them of Anna's plan and James was determined to stop her.

"Anna!" he yelled, looking frantically around the room for any sign of his sister. His eyes found Lily.

"She's gone."

* * *

AN: Ok so I'm not quite sure how I feel about this chapter. I don't like to go back and read things that I've just written, and this particular chapter is very long, so I didn't. Therefor I don't know what it's like to read. As I was writing it, I felt like I was dragging it out a little too much, but there wer certain points I wanted to get across. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Hopefully I'll be able to update again soon. Please review!!

Review topic suggestion: Ok, so obviously there will be at least a little bit of time (I know how long but I'm nottelling you!) in which Anna will be seperated from the others. I'm trying to decide how to write that time period. I'm thinking either through letterswritten between characters, or just jumping around between the different locations. I'll probably do both? Any suggestions (new or one of the things I've said) for what I should do would be appreciated! Thanks!


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